Three freight trucks with over 100,000 new children's books were donated Wednesday as part of an effort to get books into the hands of San Diego kids for the summer during this COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 106,000 children's books were delivered to The Arc of San Diego, a nonprofit human-service agency, as part of The Great San Diego Book Giveaway, made possible by a $1 million donation worth of books from the Molina Foundation.
“COVID-19 has highlighted deep inequities in distance learning for kids across San Diego County, many of whom have no access to the internet or computers and have no books at home. This multi-agency collaboration is about delivering books into the hands of children in San Diego who need them at this time,” said Jose Cruz, CEO of the San Diego Council on Literacy.
The books will be sent out to San Diego Council on Literacy affiliated agencies and other partners across San Diego for distributions over the coming weeks.
Those affiliated agencies include:
ARC of San Diego, BASIC, Camp Pendleton, Community Housing Works, Education Begins in the Home, Escondido Public Library, Grossmont Adult Basic Education, Jewish Family Services, Kiwanis of Carlsbad, KPBS, National City Public Library, City of National City, Oceanside Promise, Palomar College, Reach Out and Read, San Diego Oasis, San Diego Public Library, Southwestern College, Wildflower Initiative, and Words Alive.
The San Diego Unified School District and Chula Vista Elementary School District will also be receiving books.
